Elementary school, Middle school, High school, and College combined, we give at least 17 years (excluding early years) of our lives. But I will probably retire at 60; that's about 39 years to go. Today I became 24 years old (Happy Birthday to me!), leaving 36 years in my pocket. I may not know how to spend them yet, but it appears like I am starting to appreciate my last 156 weeks (3 years).

What makes me appreciate it?

Maybe I was ignorant, excited, and courageous enough to take a role at Freshworks that I barely knew. When I earned myself an internship, someone bet this 20-year-old college student would help the developer relations program at Freshworks in some way or another, not by instructing me but by nurturing my energy.

We were a young developer relations team with flexibility. It's because organizations don't know how developer relations help them allowing us to do things as if we know what we're doing. I pulled up some snippets of the writings that someone who nurtured me wrote:

That's how the first year of my career turned out? 

I have different fond memories of 2019-2020. It was exciting to work and find a corner or furniture and start google searching over and over. It felt like a nuke inside my head when I was assigned a support ticket, but I had zero knowledge on how to resolve it. The silence in a 30-member meeting room was OK, but the fact that each one of them was listening keenly was scary every single time. I was almost pleasantly surprised to get involved in conversations with the team members, who always reminded me that I was not with a group of teens anymore. People have kids, families, and medical emergencies that sound normal but feel odd. Going back to PG and playing video games is a luxury, while the others on my team should travel about 1-2 hrs early to spend an extra hour with their kids is eye-opening.

Eventually, culture did its magic, allowing me to speak up, drive initiatives even when I was too young, and trust that we were moving in the right direction. Finally, if I ask the right questions, I used to get good advice from the people around me. I could've even paid them in thousands if it weren't free.

The "first" in the first year only comes once. If you absorb the experiences in the right spirit, what comes next will well arm you. I saw myself as more practical and execution-oriented. It was terrific to see thoughts becoming a reality. It supercharged me every day. I learned to wrestle against the skills I lack. I found a routine. It's at this time I learned to build patience. All college-level energy began to fade as the situations helped me realize that becoming an adult is inevitable.

What makes me appreciate my last 156 weeks (3 years)?

I can set up a new bar for myself every year and ensure my growth is fueled by culture, manager, and the company and not hampered by 'inside the building' problems. I found the right speed and could embrace this as an opportunity. So I would enjoy this journey as I will remember.